Category Archives: Thoughts

What is future of magic here and why there are so few magicians in Nepal? I wanted to provide some commentary on this topic and also of the scene of woman magicians here too… often untouched topic! For this I contacted several prominent magicians male, female from all over Nepal. So Are there challenges that Nepali magicians encounter that their entertainment counterparts or not? If so, what are they?

Most magic shows are tasteless clownish acts here in nepal with a series of odd non-routined tricks shown at a speed of an express train, so they can boast of 50 items (as they call effects here) in 30 min, on their biz card!And strangely they get hired on this very basis…Who can show the most strange looking boxes and contraptions in so small time frame. So that clients ‘get back’ their investement and yes(!) the same magician gets hired for next time due to their SUPERB TIME MANAGENT with the most tricks in less time! So the problem with magic is a non exposure to world class magic scene here! Clients here don’t know the pleasure and a value of routined, scripted magic act… so I dont blame artists here… you get what u want to buy… simple! Garbage in garbage out!

Next I think in the entertainment community, the magician is not going to be taken more seriously in the beginning than the actors or comedians or singers here in Nepal.

Also It’s not uncommon for me to hear from a few female magicians here for themselves that they are pretty good, for a wasted talent. I usually advise them that taking into consideration whether the magician is male or female shouldn’t be an issue. We have to say ‘I am a magician’ first. The fact that I am a woman or a man is secondary. Most magic books are written for men. Not because the writers are trying to exclude women but because the writers are men and they are writing what they know. Tricks are designed using suit jackets and wallets and pant pockets. So if you’re a woman and want to do these tricks but don’t wear a suit or carry a wallet, you’ll have to figure out something else. Most patter is written for men. Again, not because the writers are trying to exclude women, they are just writing what they know. This shouldn’t matter in the long run because as an entertainer you should be able to make the trick your own, but in the beginning, it’s good to be able to work with patter that has been tested. And if it has a “male” feel to it, the women won’t be able to pull it off as well as their male counterparts.

But the scene here is still crazy for a female magician… The female magician almost needs to work from scratch when it comes to patter. I think female magicians are going to be hit on more than male magicians. They’ve had some inappropriate things said to them that if they were a man, wouldn’t have been said. I have seen a few ladies had men try to pull them down onto their lap and put their arms around their waist. What can magic organizations do to be more welcoming to female magicians? That’s a hard one for me because I don’t belong to any magic organization because WE DONT HAVE ANY HERE!! I’ve been performing for so long now and the local magic community personally, they are very welcoming for ladies than men, positevly… so now I like to focus on the advantages rather than the disadvantages. I think woman magicians can actually have an easier time with the general public here in NEPAL because I think women are more disarming than men in general. Not intending to say anything bad about men, mind you. Just saying that society allows women to be less confrontational and if that’s what they want their style to be then I think women can pull it off better just because we are women. I think women can flirt in ways that don’t come off creepy but if a male was to act that way… well … it comes off sort of creepy. I can touch people physically in ways that would be, maybe, crossing some boundaries if I was a man. It’s easier for them to be “sweet”. Men socially don’t get to be sweet. They have to be tough or edgy or fake con men or something like that! Now i would like to focus on what magic really is like here in nepal.

Nepali Magicians here take an easy way out.magic here is not a respectable art form but just an easy way to get some bucks due to its curiousity value.people everywhere love to be amazed and surprised,Nepal is no different…we all love to shell out for a different type of fun,that magic gives!In Nepal u rarely will see a good card or coin or cigarette manipulations like cyril or a pleasant cane dance or ball magic..which require hours or years of practise! Most magicians u see today are a by product of an infamous exposure show by masked magician,which keep telecast repeatedly here.Any kid who watched the show is now a MAGICIAN!They are more inclined to use props based shows than using manipulative dexterity..by that I mean 9 out of 10 magic shows u chance to watch here will be using all sort of mini boxes and bags and all!u wont be able to watch a decent card or coins trick but more of change bags or silk blendos or likes!

Another problem here is lack of a proper magic culture.we dont have magic clubs or even a magic craft shop or a local organisation! Magicians here work under mutual fear of exposure..If i have a show and a fellow magican must have free passes ,tickets for them and familes or i risk half of my show exposed right out side of the hall or theatre..if I experimented with a novel secret,i got to share or again i risk mindless guesses cum bickering around the local meetings.If i grab a deal there must be 5 other magicians ready to work on half the price i get!

Its really a strange mindset among fellow magicians that needs to be straightend out by mutual consent here in Nepal.

Now about the other aspects of magic in Nepal.

Recently a Netherland magic Consultant an old friend of mine and Magic Designer Erik Vesser visited Nepal and we had really great talk on future of magicians in Nepal. He said that as magic world over is expanding its horizon, in Nepal too its high time Magic 2.0 needs to be introduced. If it has to survive here as a viable carrer option for today’s generation and for future!it has to be incorporated in main stream biz and culture!so what is magic 2.0?? You can read that in the next text. We have to grow beyond the usual set of magic and start an era of grand illusions here.

We can’t survive anymore by pulling out rabbits out of bags..

We can’t survive anymore by changing a color of hanky by putting in a change bag…

We cant survive anymore by swallowing paper and bringing out blades.. we keep doing these over worn effects again and again and think people here are stupid enough to enjoy them!we have to evolve as has magic!we have to compete in world class talents that people can watch on youtube at home…facebook throws tons of links of super magicians..world has changed,magic has changed world over..nepali magic has got to change!

So here is how I think we can do that change.

First of all we should stop worrying about exposure, which stops us taking magic as carrier in Nepal. Here’s why?

There’s lots of talk that many of magic’s secrets are but a mouse click away. And in our technological age, these secrets aren’t just written explanations, they’re presented in full-motion video. This initially sounds awful and I understand why many magicians are riled about the public posting of secrets. To see what’s out there, I recently evaluated exposure videos on YouTube and concluded that there’s little to worry about. The majority of the exposure videos fell far short of being dangerous for a number of reasons that I’ll explain. For this exercise, I looked-up tricks that are well known to the lay public. I’m not going to name the tricks here because I don’t want to promote the videos. Also, note that in this story, I’m focusing on YouTube videos and not the topic of illegal copying and downloading of video, an entire different issue. Incompetence First off, to expose a magic trick, you have to be able to do it well to show what it looks like. Most of the exposure videos feature individuals who show little to no technical competence or experience with the tricks. As all magicians know, there’s a huge difference between understanding a magic secret and being able to convincingly perform the related trick. The technique is so poor in many of the exposure videos, I think that someone searching for a secret, in many cases, will think that the secret is for a simpler or different trick. Boring… In online exposure videos, there’s little or no attempt to make the effect entertaining. This is no surprise as the person exposing the trick has no investment in the technique, method or prop. As a result, watch most videos that promise to expose the secret of some magic classic, and you’ll find videos that are pure tedium to sit through and have no entertainment value. Perhaps even worse than exposing a trick’s secret is to make the trick boring. And who cares about the secret to a boring trick? I deplore the old and incorrect adage, “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach,” when applied to the teaching profession. However, this adage is undeniably correct when applied to those who attempt to expose magic tricks. Clear and Present Danger? I’m not saying that online exposure videos are no danger to magic. There are a few videos that I came across that are rather devastating, but most of these were from television shows (probably copyright infringements), not from the masses of amateur videos. As we’ve learned from previous magic exposure, the revealing of secrets is far more devastating when it comes from within our own ranks. Our art of magic will always deal with exposure. For now, I’m convinced that online exposure is no more of a threat than anything in the past.

So now to to start, we can watch other magicians do their stuff. Masters of the art know what an audience wants to see, so we can pay attention to what types of tricks and what styles modern magicians use.we can use youtube and other resources and learn some magic. But we Do not, however, need to buy a beginner’s magic set (unless you’re a kid). Apply the stuff you learned from modern magicians and decide what type of act you want to do.

Get to know that there are 7 kinds: street, close up, parlor, stage, escape, mentalism, and grand illusions.

If you have the opportunity, try to get a magician to guide you. He might not reveal you any tricks, but he could give you tips on how to perform your first tricks like a pro. If you don’t have this advantage, try to learn from your mistakes as much as possible.

Over time, you will know what your audience wants most.

Have some tricks of your own. No one wants to see an unoriginal magic act being performed over and over. Of course, you should have some (or many) old and famous magic tricks in your act (such as the cups and balls). The public may enjoy some old classics (like the Miser’s Dream), but you should avoid certain old classics, like pulling a rabbit out of a hat (instead make it appear in a box).

Here’s how to think of your own original tricks (only do this if you understand the process and working of magic): Think of an idea that has never been done before. For example, make strings disappear from a guitar. Then, decide how you will accomplish the effect. Now, think of a way to make the trick convincing. Make some equipment, if necessary. You might even need duplicate object with which you’re working on. Once you’ve got all the parts planned out, start practicing the trick.

Develop a unique style of performing. Don’t steal others’ styles. You may take an old (dead) magician’s style and put a unique twist on it, but never take a modern magician’s style. It’s better to have unique style and perform previously performed tricks, rather than take someone else’s style and perform your own tricks.

Get organized. Before performing a show, be sure to rehearse it many times. You also might need to know how the room you perform in is designed. If you’re performing at a party at your friend’s house, that’s not really necessary. Just make sure there’s no one behind you. Your equipment should be made properly. Be sure to check, if everything works. Also, try to merge several tricks together to create a new effect. For example, after you turn a ball into a tissue, make a coin appear out of the tissue; then, make the coin go through your hand…

Make your own equipment. If you can’t produce your own equipment, ask some of your friends to do it for you, or go to a magic store or website and buy the equipment. Also, you might consider making people to help you as your assistants during your tricks (You already gave away the secret of many tricks to them, so why not make them part of the show?).

Get a good costume. A traditional costume for magician is a black jacket, a red formal vest that goes under it, and a pair of black pants that go with the jacket. The jacket should have many little pockets on its inside for storage of secret coins, cards, balls, etc. The vest should have big pockets on the inside so you can make big objects, such as plates, disappear/ appear. And pants should have two pockets, one on each side. The pocket should be long and made under the folded part of the pants. Also consider using the same basic outline of the costume to create a more modern one. One thing is certain you should dress a little nicer than the people you will be performing for.

Improve the flexibility of your arms, fingers and hands. Start with coin manipulation. It’s easiest to master, but is still hard. Anyway, back to coin manipulation. Learn how to palm the coin on your hand. Find a spot in your palm where the coin will stick the most even if you open/close your hand, or turn it upside down.
Then, learn creating illusions (like pretending to put an object in your other hand when really its still located in the first hand). After mastering coin manipulation, you can move on to ball manipulation and, finally, card manipulation.

Make it fun! Develop some artistic talent and sense of humor. Try to narrate or tell a story with your tricks. Be very humorous and funny (unless your style is to be mysterious or serious). If your magic act is boring, no one would want to watch it. Remember to tell some jokes every once in a while that relate to the trick. You might also want music playing during your act, just to make it more exciting. Sound effects would be cool too. But do not make an act with only music and no talking..

The new science of magical appearances in a theatre show

It was not that long ago that the American illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer came with some new techniques in the world of illusion equipment. His new inventions can and will change the magic scene for ever. So I thought that by now professional illusionists all over the world would have gone wild with his plans and would amaze audiences with their new pieces of grand illusion. But they seem to be extremely difficult to understand. And therefore almost impossible to translate into working illusions. These illusions would work very well in places like themeparks or musicals that stay in one place!

His new inventions of the Optical Wedge and Optical Slot are perfect to use in settings that don’t have to move all the time. Like a musical that stays in the same city for several months. Or in a circus like Cirque du Soleil where it can be built in, in the stage or décor.

I made some 3D drawings to show what these new concepts look like..

Ofcourse I cannot and will not tell you in this blog how these effects can be created. I am more than willing to discuss the workings with interested people. If you are one of those: feel free to contact me with your questions.

The Double Million Dollar Table:

Many years ago Walter Jeans created his Million Dollar Illusion. It got that name because he offered a million dollars to the one who could tell him how it works. No one ever got the money. And now the secret behind this Million Dollar Illusion is used in a couple of illusions of David Copperfield. Everything that fits on the table can be made a appear, and appear again and again. You can have a blue angel appear, fly off the table and then suddenly a red angel sits on the table. Then a green one, a yellow one…. Endless. Or you can produce a Christmas tree. Or have the table filled with food in a flash. Or put a door on it and get an army walk out of it. Or a gate that gets people to other worlds. The funny thing is that they can end up in a different place. You can make them reappear in the audience.

The Double Optical Wedge Table:

It takes a lot of study to understand the working of this illusion. It creates the opportunity to create a secret invisible tunnel to the table.

The Million Dollar Wall:

People see a wall, while in fact it is a hiding place where you could even hide an elephant. It could also be a door. An actor steps through the door and immediately becomes invisible. He can come back driving a motorcycle. Of all new principle this one could become standard in the world of theatrical special effects. If only they knew how it works. Very few know about the secret of Walter Jeans.

The Angled Round Table:

Invented years ago but still no one uses it, besides some of the biggest names. It is hard for magicians to understand why ‘the secret’ is placed away from the audience. The science behind it goes far beyond the standard magic books.

Optical Wedge Table:

One of the new inventions. The Optical Wedge creates an invisible hiding place. You can hide a wizard or ghost in this hiding place under the table. But this place becomes invisible and people can see right through it. They look at the person but they can’t see him or her because you get to see what is right behind them. A jawdropper if you know it and see it live. It takes an experienced builder who is good at math to calculate the right measurements and angles. But then in your musical you can have a table standing on stage. Performers walk all around it and then suddenly the ghost appears right on the table in a puff of smoke. Or the evil witch gets smaller and smaller to then vanish completely, even with performers standing at the back of the table.

Optical Slot Table:

The Optical Slot is basically an invisible hiding place between two tables. You can see performers walking behind the table through the space between the two plates because of the illusion of the optical slot, while in fact a person is hiding in the space between the tables. You can place a doll on the table and then make it grow slowly to become a real life doll that came to life. Or a beam of light causes a vampire to melt on the table. This principle of the slot is only a couple of months old. It could change the theatre world, if only they could understand it. These are optical illusions and the mind finds them very difficult to understand. The advantage of this one and the Optical Wedge Table is that you can push them on and off stage when you need them in the show. Effects like the Million Dollar Cube need to be build in the décor. These ones can be pushed off right after the effect.

There are a couple of ways a magical effect could be figured out when someone knows nothing about magic, and when a magician would go about explaining it. Laymen would without going into detail, say ‘aaah!’ I know that something up sleeves or that box is special for magic, or that it is done by sleight of hand, etc. Second way as magicians would do it; correct terminology! That’s double undercut or it’s Million Dollar Mystery or Dual Reality. A magic consultant helps you out from both of the situation.

You as a tv magic show producer might wonder why would I need a director for a magic act. We need a magician and a camera crew! That’s it! Here’s why a consultant would help you hand over a show, that would defy a solution both for a know all magician watching the show, and also general public!! A real surprise! Magicians are sloppy sometimes, many are!! You can see hundreds around doing clumsy double lift or useless steals for an egg! People normaly wont be fooled if they know even a slightest fumble. People will see a hidden object and seconds later they think how it’s done! Magic over! Even if that object forms just one percent of the entire effect. Consultants make sloppy magicians into ace talents!

Now talking of magicians watching the show, and they do form a large part of a televised magic show TRP. And magicians think themselves fooled, and remember real magician do love being fooled, when they fail to figure out in complete detail, the workings! For example, if they know four methods of vanishing a girl and if the consultant you hired makes available 2 more techniques to vanish a lady!!. You can imagine the impact your show can have. It could be talk of the city and a topic for debate among chat shows. Big cities do have a chat show where they invite celebrity magicians for a cup of tea. This would spark added accolade for your TV Magic Show which could have been impossible if you were using just a magician and a camera team.

Now let me take you to the real depth of how a magic show director or consultant may polish up a stale magic show and help your show and the performer you have on the show. A consultant would help you devise a clever and memorable format for your show. Just letting a camera shoot a street performance or a staged studio magic is boring! How if he helps you turn a show into magic talent contest?

Or where magic happens to totally unsuspecting street walkers, or inside a scary room. A candid camera type show where instead of usual pranks, magical things happen to them and you shoot the act! For example a customer sitting at a hotel lounge sees into a room window where a lady visually turns into a witch! And you shoot the reaction for TV audience. From planning to setup to execution – all in a perfect way.

Besides helping with show format he can help you in all aspects of production. Ranging from deceptive lightings, to camera angles and positions, to editing footage for maximum impact. As he knows magic better than your average magician. For example, I have worked with a regional language TV channel where I was consultant for a beginner magician and I helped him channel producer with effects selections, prop management, scripting the and and giving tips for proper shooting. The show got real accolades and sponsors too!

Let’s see what makes a magic show a good thing for TV production: production, happiness, and pure thrill of impossibillities. Magicians tend to focus solely on their tricks and less on audience reactions, their anticipations, their dreams. What they really want to see! Consultants can help them with timing of misdirection and possibillities of extreme magic. By timing of misdirections I mean choreographic misdirection. Attention control is single most important factor in any worthy magic effect. A magician usually spends most of the time perfecting his manipulative skills and moves neeeded. This makes them pay less focus on the equally overall things in a magic show.

Scripting is also a crucial aspect of a show which a consultant can help you with. When I help magicians one of the first things I always ask is if they have some rundowns for me. And: no one has. Rundowns are a line-up of all the basical things you need for your act. Everyone needs to have that!I find it completely unbelievable if a magician doesn’t have something on writing about his act. He can tell what illusions he does, but he can’t even hand me that on paper! A promptbook a script of your acts and shows. Promptbooks are used in the entertainment industry for theatre plays, musicals, concerts and other large stage productions. If you have a large stage: make your promptbook!!! I would suggest separate promptbooks for every act. Prompting is necessary when you have a stageshow with several assistants and stagehands. If you need people for the sound and light effects and have several stage hands then all you need to hand them is the promptbook of the show. It will tell them what to do. It makes practising much easier, your whole life gets more relaxed when you have a map with prompts.

A consultant can help you realize that for audience the effect is important and not the methods. He can help you achieve the same effect using cost effecive way. Thus helping you in budget resources. For example, if a magician wants to spend thousand to perform a sawing illusion with a motorised buzz saw, a good consultant can help you get the same sawing in half illusion using less expensive way. He will make you think rubber band linking effect is equally impressive on a screen as is a floating lady. Black art and black light techniques can add immensly to this kind of platform. Cheap and effective. So hiring a magic director will nog only help you in production but also post editing scenario. As TV is a good platform for entertainment so is magic. And the combination of both could be dramatic pleasure.

Board Room Magic Anyone? Oh yes! CEO’s do love surprises. And consumers do love surprises too! So how about making business life more magical? And how about adding that special bit of magic into your product launches and advertisement? Trust me when your noodle crawl out of the hot bowl and forms a company logo on the dinner table, it might make a different image: a product that has power to bring energy and livelyhood back to your life!

Or when an energy drink can refills itself again and again even after pouring out to fill a giant mug out of it, it may indeed build a strong brand image: unstoppable source of energy oozing out of anyone who drinks it!

Just imagine a mint branch able to project a cool image when they blow out of his mouth freezes the bottle of water. Mint candy that is really cooool; freeze the water, refresh your life!

These are only few examples where creative magical artists come handy. Lets expand the horizon; lets brin the magic into board room. How about your CEO able to make a booklet of policies blank all the way and then get filled up again. It will bring smiles to the members sitting around bored! If that wont do, then how about making a senior head of the company remain just a head and no body at all. He can be seen delivering an anual speech just being a helpless head put on the table, while his body plays a game aside! You just imagine the impact of the speech!

Magic can be made as dignified as you wish, as the level of seniority increased, or can be as funny and crazy if the ambience around is light.

This is about how you as a business person hire my help in a very artistic way that is truly magical, to promote your ideas, or get across a message in a memorable way! I can help, as I have 15 years of magical experience in theatrical and visual magic. If you are reading this, you are maybe interested in knowing how a magician can help you achieve your goals. Wether it be a trade show where you plan to expose your products, or be it an annual meeting, or a party organised on a lighter note. Magic has power to bring a difference . It’s fun. It’s effective. It’s affordable. And satisfying.

Lets see how illusion and magic techniques and tools can be integrated with all aspects of, and ofcourse al types of, business institutions. Cafe and hotels can hire an on house magician, who can help them entertain waiting customers at tables. No long boring times for them waiting to be served. Free fun along with nice food atract repeat customers for sure. A magician working it outside the cafe will definately attract well enough customers to enter in.

If you want grand magic for an auto, cars, bikes etc trade expo, them a floating car or bike will yield more views to that area than any other ones. Or you can show one model vanish and other appear. And ofcourse you can make people appear inside or vanish them from within. You can change colour of the vehicle to show various options available.

Outdoor advertisers can be helped greatly if a giant hoarding hoard a sec before gets painted and printed in a blink of an eye. Or how if the giant board floats up and gets attached to the boarding framework on top of the building?

Last time I was at a farewell function of a company where a few employees were being fired, I found it stale. Why not have them a dignified exit. They sit on a chair inside a cabinet, puff they vanish. Or ‘bang’, new employees take their places. Appearance at a good use!

A business executive floored a project head when he predicted the proposal an hour before it was on the table!

Magic makes the board room a relaxing place to share. So much for the CEO aspect. Lets now see how trade show booth and other events can benefit. I let you explore my creative idea!

Here I give you some practical advice on attracting customers on your Trade Show Booth. You with all your vigour and products have set up the top of the line show booth. You get there early hoping the best: but problem is, there is no one around the booth. You need to have plans – magical plans.

A great way to spread the word about your company and product is by giving away promotional products with your logo, name and contact info. A proven way to hook them is to surprise them. How about a living half lady handing give-away Gifts, cards of brochures to passerby!

Or how about interactive magica game for kids around there. A board with balloons stuck to them, gets burst at the command of kids, each with a card inside plus a Candy for them.

A more interesting plan would be to let them turn into Uri Geller, and have them crush a drink can mentally. A ca non table can be manipulated by kids….

A sketch pad has a figure drawn and it comes to life when kids look at it.

A cola bottle oozing smoke i also a good one!

A good magician is able to suit te company image and can incorporate products and messages to fit the his/her magic routine.

I can, given the company message, catch unsuspecting passerby and subtly let their mind feed the info. A good fun along with some amazing feats of sleight of hand can hook them. People watching dozens of company cards appear at my finger tip, get really amazed them.

Or how about I leave the ground and float up a feet when they pick a company brochure – each time and again.

To summit it up trade show booth magic or any kind of business promotion event can be channeled into a fun and informative trip fort hem.

Vanishing or appearance, or be it levitating or change products or logo’s; magic can be grand too!

Filming is an art in itself, and when mixed with magic, you get an explosion of creativity. To have a professional looking film/
video, you must use all of these aspects.
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Angles/Positions:

The angles really depend on the effect, if there is an effect with bad angles, the most logical thing to do is to have your camera in the right position so nothing is exposed. The camera shouldn’t be able to pick up any flashes, so everything must be planned out in advance as it is hard to misdirect a camera.

The first thing you have to realize when filming a performance is that the cameraman will have to act like a spectator because the people who are going to be watching the performance on film, are spectators. You’ll want your camera man to be positioned close to the spectator (behind or next to). But under no circumstance do you want to get in the spectator’s way, because they are the main viewers, and the magician’s job should be to entertain the audience, not the camera, so if at that moment it would be hard to get a good shot of the magician, don’t worry, there will be plenty of other times to get a great shot. Different tricks call for different angles and positions,If possible, have the cameraman film everything (arm + bodies) to get a good view of facial expressions. If the cameraman was positioned on the right of the spectator, the spectator’s arm would be in the way. The camera must have a good view of EVERYTHING so it benefits the viewers on the other side of the screen once filming is complete.

You DON’T want the camera to be shakey, it takes away from the potential of the video. Almost nothing is worse than a shakey camera, make sure that the camera man is calm and cool so that the stability of the camera is normal. You want to have support at the bottom of the camera, so instead of hold both sides of the camera (or only one), simply put one hand into a fist, and rest the camera on top, the other hand will be at the side of the camera. Another way to hold the camera is to hold it while looking down at it. To do this, instead of putting your hand up into the camera strap, put it downwards into the camera strap, I find this gets a lot more stability, but the angles are harder.

Lighting:

I notice sometimes in people’s videos, and even my own it is hard to see the face of certain cards, this is because of lighting. Cards are VERY VERY reflective and light just bounces off of it like there’s no tomorrow. To avoid this, close your blinds so that no light can shine onto the cards, and turn the light off of your camera. Have the light shining behind you, not from in front of you, or the cards will reflect light. “Your eyes and brain can quickly adapt to mixed lighting situations — such as tungsten, daylight, and fluorescent — but your camcorder has a much more difficult time. fluorescent lights often cause a greenish cast, while tungsten makes things orangish; even good ol’ daylight can color your scene blue if you’re in the shade or next to an open window. How the heck do you deal with all of that? The best solution is to try to limit your light sources, and then use your camcorder’s white balance setting adjust for the dominate light source. So if you’re indoors with lots of light streaming in the windows and bright fluorescents overhead, then either turn off the fluorescents and balance for the daylight, or pull down the window shades and adjust for the overhead lighting. Once you start thinking about mixed lighting sources, you can take steps to avoid those situations. When you can’t, try to limit the different types of illumination and adjust your white balance accordingly.

Sound:

Sound is another very important issue, it is very unprofessional to hear background noise, and even the sound of the camera’s mechanisms. “Whenever possible, use an external microphone, either wireless or with a cord, to capture the audio during taping. Resist the urge to go the easy route and use your onboard mic. Not only is it of less quality than a good external microphone, it will also pick up noise from the camcorder’s drive mechanism.

All that is left is the way you perform your magic. If you do all of these things, you should be left with one sweet video. Just remember to inform your camera man about all of these items, if you don’t you could be left with a very unprofessional video which will turn some online audiences away.

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A Trip to the Moon is the first science fiction film, and utilizes innovative animation and special effects, including the iconic shot of the rocketship landing in the moon’s eye. The film was written and directed by Georges Méliès.

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I, having done Magic for TV work a few times, know that the pressures for delivering mindblowing effects the producers want to see with tough standards and near miracle test conditions,will allow the use of these subtle techniques which we call camera tricks..yes they do allow!! I mean when you watch so called reality magic on TV: street magic or theatre show that’s produced and directed for tv audience as well! Tthere you follow a group of people supposedly in their everyday lives or follow theatre audience using cut aways and inserts. Well…. if that is allowed who are we to not sneak in a few quick cuts or different angles to make something that requires skill a bit nicer and more amazing to see.Rather than show fumbles and awKakward mistakes,flashes. We cut them away. Dont we?

Many magicians takes advantage of cameras angles in lots of the illusion they perform on tv. One of these days I was discussing this subject with Erik Visser, consultant and friend of mine, and he said to me that he doesn´t consider that magic. I ask him why? He said to me that in that situations the magicians doesn´t use any ability of it´s own, but relies in camera properties. So that ´s not magic! But I said to him, that the camera properties are equal to misdirection in real life, then he started to see things in a completely different angle.I really dont care if magicians use editing or camera angles to their advantage? How is that bad magic and how is that not ‘real magic’- magic on stage? We cheat all the time in magic, no one ever said it all has to be sleight of hands and gimmicks? I think it’s fair way to cheat to entertain any way you can. Magicians will complain-those who cant copy! but there’s really no logic in saying that it’s wrong and that it’s not magic. Magicians are the most honest people in the world. We say that we are going to lie and cheat and we do. And as we say, the way we cheat doesn´t always relies on sleight of hand or gimmicks…sometimes knowing how a camera works can really be a useful tool.

In the case of DC he uses it in a subtle way, Criss Angel ,Harary ,Blaine use and abuse of it.. That´s the wrong way in my opinion.Use any method properly! There will always be magicians who are unhappy because they see a great trick and then learn that they can’t perform it themselves in real life. The problem is not with the use of camera tricks nor with the magician using them. The problem is with those who have a problem with ‘those magicians’ using them. They’re allowed to do what they want. The public loves it because they don’t know it’s camera tricks. We should have no problems with changing camera angles to replace misdirection that would occur in a live show… We should use it misdirect a camera, but the blatant use of framing to cut out the part of the effect that could be seen if it was a live show is just cheap and lazy, should be avoided. Should be undetectable! Here comes us! The clever camera tricksters! I also don’t have any problem with using a stooge group, say to surround the back side of an illusion where the dirty work is happening, as long as it looks good and convincing from the audience side of things. To me, yes magic is a form of entertainment, but it’s specifically entertaining people by fooling them. If people are fooled by video editing and it’s done in an entertaining way, then what’s not magic about it? What rule is there in magic that the magic must be accomplished by pure sleight of hand? What rule is there in magic that the magic must be “performable” in real life? We use mechanical gimmicks. We use electronic gimmicks. Video editing is simply a step up. Who’s the one who drew the line and said “after this point, you’re crossing the line and it’s not ok”?Most people would draw the line where you can’t wach it live anymore but there’s not a genuine magic video that hasn’t been tempered with from the point of view of the audience, I think it’s OK. If there are cuts or special effects, like green-screen or digitally removed gimmicks.